Communication technology uses channels to exchange information as electrical signals between two points or nodes. The two points or nodes may be, for example, integrated circuits on a circuit board, a cell phone and cell tower, two computers on a network, or a sensor and a base station. Digital information, such as a digital signal, can be encoded using various schemes. The encoded digital information may be sent by a transmitter-node across a medium, either via wires or wirelessly in the form of electromagnetic waves, to a receiver-node, thus enabling transmission of the encoded digital information between the two nodes. When the receiver-node receives the encoded digital information, it decodes the digital information. However, to decode the information the receiver-node currently must possess the correct value of the timing that was used to encode the original digital information.
Some encoding/decoding schemes require that the transmitter-node send the timing information, that is, a clock signal, alongside and independent of the encoded digital information. Other schemes embed the timing information within the encoded digital information. Yet other schemes rely on distributing and/or using highly accurate primary reference clocks using synchronization links and synchronization supply units. Due at least in part to clock synchronization requirements, communication functions can be one of the largest consumers of power for most devices.